Love In The Shadows
by Grace Kay
Summary: Isabela sneaks in to the Gallows to visit her lover. She has no idea going in, however, what awaits her when it's time to leave. Second installment of the Sea and Sunshine series, sequel to Harmless Fun Between Friends


A pair of amber eyes glinted in the setting sun's rays coming through the windows. But the mage walking by did not see, moving steadily through the hall to take her supper in the dining room. The owner of those eyes stood stock-still, swallowed by shadow, awaiting her quarry with a patience born out of a life spent taking for herself what life refused to give freely. Her freedom from her husband, her ship, her life on the open waters, and now… now the love of a beautiful woman, captive in the _fucking_ Gallows.

 _Me and Marian. We're going to get you out of here, Sunshine_. _But until then…_

The woman jumped forward like a cat after a string, diving into the deep shadows behind the next pillar. The hall was lined with them, and after making sure she remained unseen, the woman jumped from shadow to shadow, eyes taking in every detail of her surroundings as she went.

Finally, she stood opposite the dormitories. Apprentices in the Gallows slept barracks-style, thirty beds in each of the four great rooms. Senior enchanters who had passed their Harrowing didn't get their own rooms, but they did get upgraded to a room with only one other occupant. There were far less of them by the time they reached their Harrowing, and even less _after_ it.

Scanning the doors from the shadows, the amber-eyed woman made her selection and pelted out from cover. She opened the door she had selected silently, slipped inside, and closed it again just as silently. Her madcap dash had taken less than five seconds. If anyone saw her, then she was seriously losing her touch.

"Isabela!"

The woman turned just in time to catch the raven-haired beauty she had come here to see.

"Hey, Sunshine," Isabela purred, hugging the woman, Bethany Hawke, tightly to her. They didn't have a lot of time to waste, but after a moment she held the girl at arm's length, feasting her eyes on the lovely sight of Bethany's face. It had been two months since she had dared sneak in to the Gallows to visit. It would be many more months until the next time. She had learned early on that she needed to take and truly savor these moments when they happened.

"I've missed you terribly," Bethany was saying, her sweet voice barely above a whisper. "I saw your signal this morning and I couldn't think about anything else all day."

Isabela grinned. "Am I all you dream about? Can't compare to the people available right on your doorstep?"

"Hardly anyone can compare to you, 'Bela."

 _All right. Feast time over. Get on with it or you won't have enough time_. With a slight growl, Isabela slipped her hand up into Bethany's hair and pulled her in for a hungry kiss. They had a little under an hour until dinner was over. The pirate had watched for Bethany's roommate, letting her pass before moving for the bedroom. From experience, they knew the roommate would be gone the entire dinner hour, but they needed to be done with Isabela out and back in hiding if they wanted to be safe.

The kiss was hot and messy, with too much tongue and teeth, and barely enough separation time to breathe. But they were frantic. Isabela could already feel her center pulsing with need. Damn her promise of monogamy with Bethany in the Gallows. But the truth of the matter was that, for the first time in her life, she didn't _want_ to sleep with anyone else, even though Bethany had tried to insist that she ought to. So they were left with these handfuls of trysts a year, frantic meetings in the shadows of the evening while Bethany's roommate was not present.

It wouldn't have to do for too much longer, though. Isabela and Marian had been in talks. Isabela had a ship now. The six long years of having Bethany in the Circle would be done. She just needed to wait the right time to enact their plan: Anders would sneak into the Chantry, find and smash all the phylacteries, and then Isabela could smuggle the girl out.

That could wait, however. Right now, the pirate had a job to do. "I've missed you… so much," Bethany panted between kisses. Isabela moved to her throat, biting and sucking her way to the younger Hawke's collarbone. "It's been so long," Bethany continued, gasping as Isabela moved aside the collar of her robes and suckled there.

"I've missed you, too, sweet thing," Isabela whispered, grinning at the faint mark she had left. They couldn't risk Bethany's pale skin being too darkly marked, or it would draw attention. But Isabela would push whatever envelope she could. The mark would be gone by morning, but all night she knew Bethany would press her fingers to it and remind herself of their brief encounter.

Moving back up, she kissed Bethany again, gripping tightly to her, feeling the details of her body through the many layers of her robes. It had been many years since Bethany Hawke had participated in any measurable exercise, and the lack of activity had left her body a landscape of delicious soft curves. Isabela had never gotten her all the way naked, not since she'd been captured by the templars and thrown into the Gallows. But still she appreciated the younger woman's assets, even if she had to do so through frustrating layers of cloth.

Best of all, of course, was her round behind. Isabela grabbed a good handful with both hands, causing Bethany to yelp as the pirate pulled them close. She grinned, switching their positions and pushing the younger Hawke sibling against the door.

"Remember to be quiet," she cautioned in a whisper, then fell to her knees, hiking up handfuls of robes and disappearing beneath them.

"Oh, you are _wicked_ ," Bethany gasped, one hand holding her robes up while the other immediately began caressing Isabela's hair. The pirate _loved_ that. _Just a little longer, and I can have my way with her as much as I like in my cabin on my ship. Just a few more months to figure out the details…_

Ridding herself of the thoughts, Isabela refocused her attention on the task at hand. She was surrounded by her lover's warmth, her nose filled with her heady scent. Beloved fingers caressed her scalp, nails raking gently up and down in soft encouragement. Taking in a deep breath through her nose, Isabela dove forward, plunging her tongue _deep_ into the thoroughly soaked folds of flesh in front of her.

She never tired of Bethany's taste. It was tangy and almost sweet, taking on a darker, earthier flavor the further toward its source Isabela moved. The folds of flesh were warm and soft, malleable in her mouth, moving and flowing around her tongue as she sought the small button of pleasure she knew she would find at those folds' apex.

Just as Isabela suspected, the hand on her head and the body above her both stiffened when she reached her destination.

"Wicked, wicked, wicked," Bethany panted, nearly doubled over the pirate as she gripped her hair.

Isabela grinned. That was what Bethany called her. Wicked woman, wicked pirate, with a wicked tongue. _"A wicked tongue in more than one way,"_ Bethany had said after the first time the pirate had done this for her. She had then done a fair imitation for Isabela, though she had improved dramatically with practice.

Her head cradled by her lover, Isabela could not help the swell of emotion inside of her. Damn this place, damn the knight-commander, and damn anyone who thought this was an acceptable way to live. And yet somehow, she and Bethany made it work. She was pissed off, and full of love, and she wanted nothing more than to lead Bethany out of here by the hand and kill anyone who might stand in her way.

But she could not do that until the phylacteries were broken, and _those_ were in the Chantry. She, Hawke, and Anders had a plan, and it would be enacted very soon.

Soldiering on, Isabela was delighted to hear the telltale yelp, muffled as Bethany bit it off, that signified the woman's imminent release. The mage's body stiffened, her fingers dug in to Isabela's hair, and then a wash of fluid ran over the pirate's chin, painting her, marking her as Bethany's. She kept her tongue pressed to that nub of nerves until Bethany collapsed against the door, breathing hard, her hand going back to its gentle stroking of Isabela's hair. Then the pirate eagerly lapped up all excess fluid, running her tongue over slick folds, unmindful of coarse hair scratching at her nose and lips.

She would have happily stayed where she was the rest of their time together, but Bethany was having none of it. The mage's hand moved to Isabela's shoulder, tugging, insistent that Isabela leave her feast and her plans to bring Bethany to climax a second time. The pirate obeyed, standing and finding lips searching for her own before she'd even fully found her feet.

"I love you." Bethany's hot breath washed over her, and then their lips crashed together. A mewl made it clear that Bethany tasted herself on the pirate, and then her tongue darted over Isabela's lips, clearing the sticky evidence from her face.

When a knee pressed between Isabela's legs, the pirate wasted no time. She ground down, holding Bethany's gaze as they panted and breathed each other's air. "I… oh! I love you, too, Sunshine," she breathed, riding the mage's leg _hard_ , holding fisting her robes in her hands to keep them both steady. Now that it was on offer, she was desperate for release, and while she would have preferred they take their time, that Bethany reach inside of her and draw out a toe-curling orgasm, they did not have the time for that.

One more thing to add to the list of things she would do once she had Bethany out of this Maker-forsaken place.

Heat was coiling low in her belly. She pulled Bethany forward, crashing into her in a desperate kiss, trying to pour everything she was thinking and feeling into it. Bethany whimpered, but Isabela did not let up, grinding down even harder.

She stiffened, throwing her face into Bethany's shoulder and biting, muffling the scream threatening to fall from her lips. Pleasure ripped through her, fast and hard, forcing her body to convulse once, twice, and then a third time. Then she collapsed, panting, surrounded by the beautiful scent of her lover, so concentrated in the soft furrow where her neck met her shoulders.

Meanwhile, Bethany made soft cooing noises, stroking Isabela's hair and holding her steady with an arm wrapped around her waist. Isabela wrapped both arms around Bethany's waist in return, holding tightly to her while tamping down tightly on her emotions.

 _You can't cry. If you cry, it will ruin this one beautiful moment you get to have every few months. You can go back to the Hanged Man and drown your tears in awful beer, but you_ _ **cannot**_ _cry right now, Isabela._

"Hey, Rivaini," Bethany called, using Varric's nickname for her, voice soft and light. "It's all right. You don't have to keep a brave face for me."

Isabela shook her head, burying her face further in the source of that wondrous scent. "I'm getting you out of here," she finally said, her voice barely even a whisper.

"You're what?"

She looked up, catching Bethany's beautiful brown eyes. "We have a plan. I'm getting you-"

A great explosion sounded, cutting Isabela off and causing Bethany to squawk in surprise. They both turned in each other's arms, shock clear on their faces as they looked out the window. There, rising from Hightown, was a column of smoke, reflecting orange flames from underneath. There would only be two places that could be targets up there, two places big enough to produce such a column of destruction. From the layout of the city Isabela had in her head, she knew from which location it rose.

"The Chantry," she breathed, leaving Bethany's side and moving to the window. Heedless of the risk of being seen, Isabela leaned out, squinting as she tried to somehow see more clearly. "That ass…"

"'Bela?" Bethany's hand appeared on her shoulder, recalling her attention. "Do you know what's happening, love?"

"Fucking Anders," Isabela growled. "He wasn't supposed to blow up the Chantry! He was supposed to sneak in and destroy the phylacteries! Then me and Marian were going to spring you and leave!" She left the window, running to the door and looking out the small window in it. Even senior enchanters didn't get complete privacy, and any templar could easily check on his or her charges with these.

"You… you were working to get me out?"

"Yes," Isabela said, distracted as she checked the halls. Just as she turned to address Bethany, she found the mage flinging herself into her arms.

"Oh, 'Bela! I thought I'd be stuck here forever!"

"Of course. I was never going to leave you here to rot. But this… this changes things." Isabela held her tight, thinking frantically. Finally, she made a decision. "Come on. That explosion will have destroyed all the phylacteries. And if it hasn't, I'll go and make sure to finish the job. But we need to get you out of here right now, before the templars figure out what's going on and force you all into your rooms under watch." Relinquishing her embrace, Isabela took Bethany's hand. "Are you ready?"

Bethany leaned over, plucked her staff from where it was leaned against the wall, and secured its harness over her shoulder. "Yes. Lead the way, love. You're the one who knows this place well enough to sneak in and out."

Nodding, Isabela opened the door, looked for templars, and then disappeared into the darkness, her lover in tow.

Soon, they would be on the open sea.

* * *

 _A/N: Raven Sinead's prompt lead to Harmless Fun Between Friends. This fic is a continuation of that one. There will eventually be a third piece to this, more than likely, to complete the little triad. I hope you enjoyed this little moment leading into escape that my brain cooked up yesterday._


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